Daniel Boulud’s Le Pavillon opens at One Vanderbilt with lush greenery and city views
All photos courtesy of SL Green Realty
Chef Daniel Boulud this week officially opened Le Pavillon, a new restaurant in the Midtown office tower One Vanderbilt. Located directly across from Grand Central with views of the Chrysler Building, Le Pavillon boasts soaring, 57-foot ceilings and a nature-inspired design by Brazilian architect Isay Weinfeld that includes lots of greenery and natural elements.
“I can’t think of a more fitting moment to open Le Pavillon,” Boulud said in a press release. “Despite the many, many challenges that we have faced in the last year our commitment to creating this dining destination never wavered and, in fact, we are more certain than ever that this celebration of cuisine, nature and architecture is exactly what New Yorkers need right now. It is my sincere hope that this is an opportunity to celebrate New York City for all of us.”
Located on the second floor of One Vanderbilt, the restaurant measures 11,000 square feet and has a dining room that can accommodate up to 120 guests and a bar area with 46 seats. Above the bar is an impressive hand-blown glass chandelier designed by artist Andy Paiko, with the Chrysler Building and Grand Central Terminal framed by massive windows behind it.
Le Pavillon’s design, led by Weinfeld along with Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), blends nature and architecture, with greenery, live trees, and foliage found throughout the dining room.
Weinfeld is known for incorporating nature into his projects. In New York City, he’s behind the Chelsea condo building Jardim, which was designed as a sort of “concrete jungle,” as well as the new incarnation of the Four Seasons. At Le Pavillon, he wanted to mix elements of a classic NYC skyscraper and Central Park.
“I believe we succeeded in making Le Pavillon warm and cozy within the impressive scale of the venue,” Weinfeld said. “The solution came with bringing in lush greenery, which makes for a soothing and peaceful ambiance, an oasis amidst the hustle-bustle of the city.”
In developing the restaurant, Boulard was not only inspired by the traditional pavilions found in France, but also by the classic New York City restaurant that opened in 1941 at the World’s Fair’s French Pavillion. It was last located in the Ritz Tower Hotel on West 57th Street, and when it closed in 1972, the New York Times said that “at its peak” it was “the finest French restaurant in the United States.”
As for the menu, Boulud is working with local suppliers and farmers on a vegetable- and seafood-forward contemporary French-American menu.
Starting May 20, Le Pavillon will serve dinner Wednesday to Saturday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., with breakfast and lunch service expected to launch this fall. The dinner menu includes a $125 per person three-course prix fixe, with a la carte menu items available in the bar and lounge.
A unique “Garden Table” located in the middle of the restaurant will feature special food and wine experiences, including guest chefs, winemakers, and tasting menus.
SL Green’s One Vanderbilt opened last September, becoming the fourth tallest building in New York City at 1,401 feet tall. As 6sqft reported last week, the skyscraper’s observation deck, dubbed Summit One Vanderbilt, launched reservations ahead of its October opening. In addition to the deck that has two glass-floored overhangs, Summit includes an outdoor bar, the highest urban outdoor alpine meadow in the world, and an immersive art installation.
Editor’s note: The original version of this story was published on September 17, 2020, and has since been updated.
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All photos courtesy of SL Green Realty
